List of vocations in Dragon Quest IX

The Hero and the vocations

There are a total of twelve vocations in Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Six are available initially, while others must be unlocked via quests. The vocations are: Armamentalist, Gladiator, Luminary, Mage, Martial Artist, Minstrel, Paladin, Priest, Ranger, Sage, Thief and Warrior.

Similar to Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation, a vocation defines all initial attributes of a character such as stat growth and party function, which can then be customized by the player via stat enhancing seeds and by mastering skills. Note that unlike Dragon Quest III, there is no "Hero" vocation; the Hero starts out as a Minstrel and can freely change into any other profession.

Changing vocations

Vocational change can only take place at Alltrades Abbey, which is located on Newid Isle. This is not available until after a specific plot point that takes place approximately one-fifth into the game, and the player must find Abbot Jack in the Tower of Trades before they will be available to change a character's vocation.

Once the Sage is unlocked, characters can learn "Jack's Knack," which enables changing jobs on the field.

Change mechanics

When changing vocations, the character's gear will be swapped out to whatever they wore the last time if the new vocation allows it to be equipped, otherwise they must be outfitted with new armaments. Levels are separately tallied for each vocation, and the player can review a character's vocations (and their stats for each) by selecting "Attributes" under the main menu.

A mastered skill is permanently memorized by a character and can be freely transferred between jobs, but spells are locked to a vocation and cannot be carried over. For information about skills available to each vocation, see Lists of skills in Dragon Quest IX.

Revocation

After completing the main storyline, Abbot Jack will offer revocation services to any character that reached level 99. Revocation resets the character back to level 1, allowing them to accumulate more skill points. They must still re-obtain all their spells and stat progression (though seed bonuses remain intact). A commemorative accessory is granted the first time any particular vocation is revocated.

A character can only revocate an individual class up to ten times maximum. If the hero revocates a vocation up to this maximum, a special accolade is presented. Furthermore, revocation is a way for players to influence the Grotto map generation system to develop caves with stronger monsters and items, as well as improve the chances of getting rare items from blue chests.

Quests

The following quests are required to unlock the six additional vocations:

V - D - E Quest #103 - "Gladiator Graduator"
Location	Alltrades Abbey, in front of the inn
Availability	After defeating Master of Nu'un
Requested by	A priest
Fulfilled to	A priest
Item Required	Use Egg On or Psyche Up to maximize a party member who knows Dragon Slash, and kill 3 Slimes.
Reward	Gladiator class becomes available
Detail	A Priest at Alltrades Abbey has told you that a gladiator need not only Strength, but also composure. You must demonstrate this by defeating three Slimes using Dragon Slash while you're in a state of super-high tension.
Hint for solution	Go to Angel Falls to fight the weakest Slimes. If you have a Priest in the party, have them cast Snooze to keep the slime from fleeing.
Repeatable	{{{repeat}}}

V - D - E Quest #115 - "Sages in the Pages"
Location	Gittingham Palace - Bookshelf in Gittingham Palace - L2 North
Availability	Upon arriving at Gittingham Palace
Requested by	Supreme Sage
Fulfilled to	Supreme Sage
Item Required	Kill 5 Great trolls with Frizz.
Reward	Sage class becomes available.
Detail	The Supreme Sage, who sleeps between the pages of a book on the shelves of Glittengham Palace, asked if you'd like to become a sage too. To do so, you have to finish off five great trolls with Frizz.
Hint for solution	Great troll roams in Realm of the Mighty and in some grottos. They have around 600-700hp. Frizz hits around 60 with a level 55 mage. Do a bit of maths
Repeatable	{{{repeat}}}

V - D - E Quest #106 - "Taking Soul Control"
Location	Gleeba, on the roof of the palace
Availability	Upon arrival in Gleeba
Requested by	Brunhild
Fulfilled to	Brunhild
Item Required	Take 10 hits meant for party members using the Warrior skill Whipping Boy.
Reward	Paladin class becomes available
Detail	Brunhild at the Mirage Mahal wants to see if you've got what it takes to be a paladin. You need to use the Whipping Boy ability to protect your companions ten times in battle in the Djust Desert.
Hint for solution	Find monsters that hit several times or a group of monsters. You have to be fighting in the Djust Desert for the hits to count.
Repeatable	{{{repeat}}}

V - D - E Quest #112 - "Ranger Changer"
Location	Heights of Loneliness - Entrance
Availability	Upon arriving at Heights of Loneliness.
Requested by	Odval
Fulfilled to	Odval
Item Required	Kill 3 Hocus chimaera using Poison.
Reward	Ranger class become available.
Detail	You accepted Odval's challenge at the Heights of Loneliness. She wants you to use Toxic Dagger to envenom three Hocus chimaeras and polish them off with Poison alone.
Hint for solution	Have a thief equipped with a knife in order to use the skill. Then equip your party member with Poison needle, this make sure that you can poison the enemy but don't kill them. When you Poison a Hocus chimaera, defend and wait until it finishes its miserable life. Cast Antimagic if you can to prevent it from healing as it is prone to using Midheal.
Repeatable	no

V - D - E Quest #109 - "Elementary Training"
Location	Alltrades Abbey
Availability	After defeating Master of Nu'un
Requested by	Windy
Fulfilled to	Windy
Reward	Armamentalist class become available.
Detail	Windy at Alltrades Abbey says you must use the Fource of Mother Nature if you want to join the great fellowship of Armamentalists. He wants you to erect a Wizard Ward before defeating two Metal slimes in battle.
Hint for solution	Equip your Mage party member with Poison needle. Try weakening the Metal slime with a Metal Slash, a sword skill, after you have casted Wizard ward. Note that the mage who cast Wizard ward must be the one to defeat the Slime.
Repeatable	No

V - D - E Quest #118 - "A Star is Born"
Location	Gleeba
Availability	after finishing the main story
Requested by	Applaudia
Fulfilled to	Applaudia
Item Required	Kill a Moai minstrel with Hot Lick.
Reward	Luminary class becomes available.
Detail	Applaudia in Gleeba says that the path to becoming a great luminary is paved with blood, sweat and tears. She wants you to defeat a moai minstrel with the Hot Lick ability to prove your worth.
Hint for solution	Moai minstrels live in higher level Grottos.
Repeatable	{{{repeat}}}

Attributes

Level 99 Stats (Base)

Attribute	Minstrel	Warrior	Martial Artist	Priest	Mage	Thief	Gladiator	Armamentalist	Paladin	Ranger	Sage	Luminary
HP	480	570	540	420	390	510	540	540	600	510	480	510
MP	179	86	38	315	364	132	41	226	175	229	500	220
Strength	246	404	399	201	96	299	500	351	354	305	202	148
Agility	359	78	500	312	401	410	124	173	73	264	218	361
Resilience	237	400	245	204	162	241	322	243	360	241	202	205
Magical Might	161	0	0	0	400	0	0	282	0	0	237	77
Magical Mending	195	0	0	400	0	81	0	0	164	200	208	318
Deftness	304	111	255	206	304	402	256	110	9	500	57	259
Charm	245	89	120	146	155	58	90	185	116	61	235	300

Level 99 Stats (Passive Bonuses added)

The following only adds the passive bonuses from the respective class. Stats increased by passive bonuses are in bold.

Attribute	Minstrel	Warrior	Martial Artist	Priest	Mage	Thief	Gladiator	Armamentalist	Paladin	Ranger	Sage	Luminary
HP	480	630	570	420	390	530	600	570	680	510	480	530
MP	179	86	38	345	394	132	41	226	175	229	560	220
Strength	246	444	409	201	96	299	540	361	354	305	202	148
Agility	359	78	600	312	401	470	124	173	73	284	218	381
Resilience	237	460	245	204	162	241	322	263	460	261	202	205
Magical Might	191	0	0	0	580	0	0	312	0	0	297	77
Magical Mending	225	0	0	580	0	81	0	0	194	200	268	318
Deftness	354	111	255	206	304	462	256	110	9	600	57	259
Charm	275	89	120	146	155	58	90	185	116	61	235	360

Class/Skill matrix

This table shows the weapon families available to each class. Investing 100 points into a given weapon skill tree enables the character to use the weapon regardless of vocation.

Class	Sword	Spear	Staff	Knife	Shield	Claw	Whip	Fan	Axe	Hammer	Fisticuffs	Wand	Bow	Boomerang
Minstrel	yes				yes		yes	yes
Warrior	yes	yes		yes	yes
Martial Artist			yes			yes		yes			yes
Priest		yes	yes		yes							yes
Mage				yes	yes		yes					yes
Thief	yes			yes		yes					yes
Gladiator	yes								yes	yes	yes
Armamentalist	yes				yes							yes	yes
Paladin		yes			yes					yes		yes
Ranger									yes		yes		yes	yes
Sage					yes							yes	yes	yes
Luminary					yes		yes	yes						yes

Gallery

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  A party group shot used for the European box art

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  Armamentalist (male)

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  Armamentalist (female)

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  Gladiator (male)

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  Gladiator (female)

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  Luminary (male)

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  Luminary (female)

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  Mage (male)

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  Mage (female)

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  Martial artist (male)

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  Martial artist (female)

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  Minstrel (male)

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  Minstrel (female)

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  Paladin (male)

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  Paladin (female)

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  Priest (male)

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  Priest (female)

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  Ranger (male)

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  Ranger (female)

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  Sage (male)

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  Sage (female)

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  Thief (male)

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  Thief (female)

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  Warrior (male)

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  Warrior (female)